DNA Tamers: Plight of the Desert Rose
by Tifalover88
Summary: Written for a Digimon RP site I'm on. Celia Hart has betrayed the Guardians, but Griffin, Hunter, and Gloria suspect otherwise...It's up to them to find out the truth!


"KiYAH!!" Celia shouted as she ducked down, performing a sweeping kick. IceDevimon yelled out in frustration as his long white legs were swept out from under him. He extended his torn wings to try and regain balance, however Celia jumped to her feet and grabbed them at the base. She pulled down hard and brought up her knee, hitting the back of IceDevimon's head without mercy.

"Rose, you ready?!" She called with a smile. Rose floated in the sky as Esimon, her small wings flapping hard and fast to keep her airborne.

"Of course!" Rose called back, sword in hand. Her long red ponytails fluttered in the air around her, the sun shining off of her breastplate. Cella chuckled as she reered her leg back, IceDevimon reaching to grab her just as she brought it forward again, his claws inchs from her face when she connected. IceDevimon let out a howl as she hit his spine directly, letting go of his wings. He went flying up into the air, spinning and disoriented, not to mention in a world of hurt.

"Why you-!!" He roared, but didn't get to finish.

"Firelight!!" Rose stabbed her sword through the air in IceDevimon's direction, the fireball traveling down the blade and launching. IceDevimon roared once more as his body was engulfed in the flames and he dropped from the sky, hitting the ground with a loud thud. Celia walked to his body and touched the ground near him. Her normally emerald eyes turned a gold color and the earth suddenly turned to sand, swiftly wrapping itself around IceDevimon, extinguishing the flames and rendering him immobile.

"That wasn't too hard..." Celia smiled as she brushed some dirt from her white vest and red tube top. Rose landed beside her and sheathed her sword.

"Yeah, I wonder why this was such a high-class mission? You'd think there'd be Guardians strong enough to easily handle IceDevimon..." Rose said curiously as she looked down at him, blinking.

"I'll get...You for this...You pesky brats..." IceDevimon grumbled as he struggled against the binding sands.

"Don't hold you breath, buddy..." Celia stood up straight. Her hair was pure white, tho' that faded into crimson as her hair reached her shoulders. She had to keep the right side of it up with a hairpin, or else it hid half her face. Her eyes had turned back to their normal green color, and over those she wore red-tinted rectangular glasses. They were purely for show. She wore a white thin vest that ended just below her chest, and under that she had a red tube top. She had baggy tan shorts that end at her knees and have large pockets, held up by a brown leather belt. On her feet were black sandals, and on her upper arm she had a black bandanna tied with the Sky Prism symbol on it. She stood a good foot over Rose, who was currently 5'1".

Speaking of Rose, she was currently in her Adult form. Her hair was long and red, down to about her waist, but held up in two ponytails on the sides of her head. She had the appearance of a 14 year old girl, wearing metal breastplate, in the center of which was an oval red NeoMatrix gem, and right shoulderpad. Under that was a simple pink shirt with short sleeves that ended just above her navel. On her forearms were leather bracers, and in her left hand was a small round sheild with a swirling fireball on the front. Her lower half was covered completely by a very frilly pale pink dress that stopped at her ankles. It had two layers, the first ending about halfway down. This dress was tied by a red ribbon, the bow in the back. Oddly out of place, she wore what looked like white and red converse sneakers on her feet. Her eyes were as red as her hair, and she had two small wings on her back.

Celia pulled a card about the size and thickness of playing card. "IceDevimon, congratulations, you're under arrest." She gave a winning smile as the card scanned and trapped him inside. She placed the Arrest Card in her pocket and turned to leave. She didn't even take a step. Standing before her and rose was a tall man with short, black hair, slicked back into spikes. His eyes were an eerie gray color and the smile on his face was rather unsettling.

"Hello there." His voice was deep, but smooth and chilling. She could tell right away this guy was bad news.

"What do you want?" Celia asked, a bit defensively. Rose got the same feeling as well, her hand going to her sword. The man simply chuckled.

"Good...I knew you were smart..." He held out his hands, "See if you can take me down...Tho' I know the outcome..." Celia sneered.

"Feh, we'll see about that!" Her and Rose lunged forward to attack.

-------------------

The loud thud of boots followed Griffin as he walked down the hall of the Guardian Headquarters. He was tall, his black hair weaved into dreadlocks, his dark body finely muscled. He had on a yellow zipped up vest ending at his waist, and under that a simple white T-Shirt. Navy blue baggy pants bounced slightly as he walked, reaching up with his right hand to adjust his yellow tinted glasses.

He noticed Asayle Forge, the leader of Sky Prism, was talking to a man with brown hair and glasses, wearing a long blue coat and a white shirt with thin black stripes going down, that Griffin recognized as Derryn Alectai. He didn't pay them much mind, but as he walked past, he caught a bit of their conversation…

"-seems she went AWOL, so now-"

"AWOL? Who?" Griffin stopped and turned to Derryn and Asayle. They both looked in his direction, Asayle running her fingers through her somewhat messy blonde hair and breathing a sigh. She adjusted her round glasses, and responded.

"One of my Sky Prisms, Celia Hart." Griffin's face expressed his confusion.

"Celia? Really?" He scratched his head, "That doesn't seem right…"

"I assume you knew her then." Asayle said, "Well, she not only abandoned the partner she was assigned for her mission, Derryn here-" She nodded toward him, "-She disobeyed the orders to return, and has such NOT returned. She is still active on the island she was sent to a week ago and the gang she took the Mission to stop is at large. Her Digivice is also blocking all of our attempts to reach her."

"Wait, wait…You're really serious? I mean…I can't see her doing something like that…We've worked together a couple times, and she's always seemed driven to be a good Guardian…" Griff was having a hard time accepting this all. He kept remembering how determined she seemed…

"This may sound bad but…She was a criminal in the first place, ordered to be a Guardian as punishment…Sometimes people simply go back to what they know… erhaps they offered her something she didn't have here. I don't know WHY, all I know is she and that gang need to be stopped. They're starting to go beyond petty crimes. I'm putting some of my best men on it-"

Griffin interrupted her: "I'll go." Asayle flashed her purple eyes at him curiously.

"This is not Blast Range's responsibility."

"I…I just don't believe it, I need to see for myself." Griffin nodded confidently. He was sure this was a mistake of some kind. "I'll gather my own team, and we'll retrieve her and stop this gang."

Asayle looked back at Derryn, who simply shrugged in a 'It-doesn't-matter-to-me' gesture. She looked back at Griffin and nodded,

"Alright then, Mr. Hawkins. I'll give you the info you'll need."

-------------------

A towering 7 foot tall man, stood hunched over in the heat. His draconic features apparent, large reptilian three toed clawed feet, natural armor plated forearms, fangs. He had similar armor on his face, looking like slashs on the side, his piercing neon blue and his hair was green and pulled into a ponytail, stopping just below his shoulders, though a few strands still hung in front of his face. His sleeveless brown coat ended at his knees, white shirt beneath. His pants were a darker brown that his coat and all his cloths were fairly baggy, though that didn't hide his muscular and imposing figure.

He stared down, ready to end this. He reached down with his clawed hand and gripped tight, lifting with ease. He put the large spoon to his lips and sipped, then in his deep voice…

"…Needs salt."

He stirred some salt into the soup he was making. Despite his sometimes frightening physical presence, Hunter loved to cook, and was never quick to anger. A gentle giant, as it were. He stood now in his home, fixing up some dinner. Spaghetti with a new sauce recipe, French garlic bread, and, of course, soup.

He poured the finished soup into a bowl and sat down at his table. Just as he was about to take the first bite, there was a knock on his door. Curiously, he stood up and walked to the front door, opening it.

"Oh…Hey Gloria."

Standing on his doorstep was a lovely young woman with an ample chest. Her hair was a shade of brown akin to cinnamon, and pulled back tightly into a small bun at the top of her neck. Her body was trim and athletic looking, and she had a brown shirt on with the sleeves rolled up. In one of the sleeves was a box of orange flavored pocky, her favorite. She had green khaki shorts that ended below her knee, and big brown boots. On her belt were several pouchs for digging tools.

"Hey Hunter…Can I come in?"

"Sure…" Hunter backed up and invited Gloria in. "I was just about to have dinner…I could whip you up something if you like…"

"No, that's ok…I was just wondering, have you seen Celia around?" She hooked her thumbs into her belt as she looked up at him.

"No, but I've been pretty busy…Why do you ask?"

"Well…We were supposed to train together a couple times this week and she never showed up. I mean, she even showed up when she was sick that one time, remember?"

"Oh yeah…You brought her here for Chicken Noodle soup…" He chuckled, "She's a bit reckless…"

"Ya, but she didn't show up all week. I went to her place, but neither her or Rose seem to be home. I haven't seen her around the headquarters or in Cyan City, either…I'm kinda worried." She frowned.

"Maybe she just, went on vacation?" Hunter shrugged.

"Maybe…" Gloria sighed, "Still wish she woulda told us…"

"I think she's still getting used to the whole 'friend' thing…" He patted Gloria's back, "She's fine, I'm sure of it."

"I hope you're right…" Just then, Hunter's Digivice received a message. He checked it,

"It's Griffin…Hold on." He pressed a button and a small holographic Griffin appeared.

"Hunter, I want you to help me with a special Mission." He stated bluntly.

"Uh…Sure…What's the Mission?" He scratched his head.

"Celia has apparently gone AWOL-"

"Celia?!" Gloria butt in, moving next to Griffin, "What do you mean she's gone AWOL?"

"Oh, Gloria, you're there…I just finished talking to Asayle Forge…She is suspected of going AWOL and aiding the Ice Heart gang." He saw the look on both their faces, "I know, I find it hard to believe too. I wanna go and find out the truth, and bring Celia back. Gloria, you should come too."

"Definitely," She responded sternly.

"Good. Both of you, meet me tomorrow morning at the Docks, around 8AM. See yas then." He vanished.

Gloria looked up at Hunter, "There's no way…Right?"

"…I hope not."

-------------------

"A beautiful mansion! Glorious richs! And handsome to boot! Is there anything the great Zealos Spear DOESN'T have?" shouted Zealos, standing on top of a table at the side of his massive pool. Zealos had spikey blue hair, easily 2 inchs long, and his body was rather scrawny. He was wearing a flashy magenta suit with fancy dress shoes.

"Oh yeah! Something to do…" Zealos dropped into a seat and slumped. "Damn! It's so boring around here." Just then, an older gentleman, clearly a butler, walked up to Zealos.

"Sir, I have finished checking the mansion for rabid wolverines…" He sighed.

"Very good, Rummy! Now go check all the closets for clowns...!" Rummy looked distraught, as usal and mumbled, "Yes, sir…" and walked off, head hung low.

"Well, there's always bossing Rummy around, but it's still not enough to entertain ME, the great Zealos!"

"Oi, would you SHUT UP?!" Mae Spear called from her bedroom window, "You're not even talking to anybody!"

"Do not try to silence my beautiful voice, sister! You'll only make me SHOUT LOUDER! LALALAAAA!" He was back on the table, yelling his lungs out.

"Gah…Trying to get my beauty rest…" Mae slammed the window closed. As Zealos was 'LaLaLaaa-ing', his cell phone started ringing.

"Yes! You have reached Zealos Spear, lucky you!" He answered. The voice on the other end was high a nasally. Zealos recognized it immediately.

"Zealos, I have some interesting information for you…"

"Ah, Rat, what is it this time?" Zealos put a hand on his hip.

"That Tamer Griffin…I heard him talking about A Tamer named Celia who's gone AWOL. Him and some others are going to get her back, they're meeting tomorrow at the Docks at 8AM. Thought you might be interested, hehe…"

"Ah, yes" Zealos smirked, plotting, "I can go along, let them do all the work, and take the credit for myself…Good idea, but of course, do I ever have any other kind? Haha!" He hung up on Rat. "Rummy! Where are you?!"

Rumsfeld leaned out of a window, "Checking for clowns, sir…"

"WHAT? Why would you do a silly thing like that?! Get the yacht ready for tomorrow! I have business!"

Rumsfeld let out a heavy sigh, "Yes, sir…"

-------------------

The next morning, Griffin, Gloria, and Hunter had met at the Docks and were trying to rent a boat. With then were Griffin and Gloria's Digimon partners, Echidmon and Rexmon, tho' they were called Zell and Rex.

Zell was a short red bipedal furred guy, who looked a bit like a wolverine. His ears, muzzle, chest, and belly were all white, with other white rings around his upper arms and shins. He had large, robotic attachments on his forearms, hands, and feet. On his forehead was a triangular blue NeoMatrix gem.

Rex very clearly resembled a dinosaur, standing on large, 3-clawed feet with big, strong legs. He was brown with dark green armor plating, with yellow slashs horizontally along it. He also had three fingers on each hand, each ending in a vicious looking claw, however he retained the look of a clueless child.

"You won't rent one to us?" Griffin asked the man behind the counter. The man crossed his arms and responded.

"Big storm comin'. I'm sorry, it's just too dangerous. Looks like it's gonna last a couple days…"

"We don't have a couple days…" Hunter sighed. "The longer we wait, the more damage the Ice Hearts are gonna do…"

"Well, nothing we can really do…" Gloria looked outside, "Hey…What's that?" Griffin and Hunter both looked outside as well, then the three left the building completely.

"Ahoy, allies!" They all groaned. Zealos Spear had come, aboard his large pink yacht, with The Unsinkable Spear painted on the side in blue.

"Flashy to a fault…" Gloria sighed and put her hand to her face.

"What is he doing here?" Griffin asked, confused. Zealos docked the yacht, and hopped dramatically from the side. Unfortunitely, he didn't land properly, and wound up facedown on the pavement. One his back plopped his Digimon, Unidamon, literally looking like a yellow ball of goo with sharp teeth and beady black eyes.

"Ow…!" He jumped to his feet, "'Why is the stunning Zealos Spear here?' you ask?!" Unidamon plopped on the ground.

"…Something like that…" Hunter responded.

"Hehehe…" Zealos had on a blue suit today, to match his hair. "Your saviour has arrived! I heard about your plight, and assure you, The Unsinkable Spear can brave ANY storm! All the other ships are anchored and covered, but this storm is nothing!"

"…You sure about that?" Gloria asked. Griffin turned to the other two.

"Well…We DO need a boat…"

"Oh c'mon…But…It's ZEALOS…" Hunter sighed.

"Hey, what're you all discussing without me, your valued team leader?!" Zealos shouted.

"…Let's just go for it. Worst comes to worst, we make him turn back." Griffin said.

"Fine. But I'm still against the idea." Gloria said.

"Alright, Zealos, we'll use your boat!" Hunter called.

"It's a YACHT!" Zealos responded.

"I don't care what you call it, as long as it stays afloat and gets us where we're going…" Gloria mumbled.

-------------------

The lovely, sparkling blue ocean…

The bright blue sky…

The calm waves…

The sound of seagulls…

All absent. The wind was tearing through the air with ferocity unmatched by any storm any of the four had experienced. The yacht was rocking back and forth so much, a couple of them were nearly thrown straight off. The sea was a swirling torrent of nature's rage, waves so high they were splashing across the deck. The sky was an ominous dark gray, flashing with lightning and roaring with thunder.

"Well! At least it's holding together!" Gloria shouted over the winds to Griffin. Rex was clinging to a pole, whimpering.

"Yeah, let's just hope it doesn't tip!!" Griffin shouted back. Zealos' laughter tore through the air. Zell was holding onto Griffin's jacket.

"I think he's gone nuts…!!" Hunter yelled to the two, his claws dug deep into the deck.

"What a trifle, this storm is! HAHA! Man may be beaten by nature, but I'm not just any man! I AM THE GREAT ZEALOS SPEAR!!" More laughter, "Give me your worst!" He had Unidamon held tightly under his arm.

Just then, a loud crack was heard. Griffin, Hunter, and Gloria looked at each other and all mumbled,

"Damnit, Zealos…"

Just as the ship cracked in half and fell apart,

-------------------

Gloria saw light again as salty water erupted from her throat. She was drenched and laying in sand, now rolling over and coughing up salt water.

"Let me do it! I KNOW CPR!!" Zealos was shouting, reaching out towards Gloria with puckered lips. Zell was holding him back,

"Oy, I wouldn't let you touch an unconscious girl under ANY circumstances…"

"What happened…?" Gloria rubbed her forehead, sitting up when all the water was out. Griffin offered her a fresh water bottle, which she took.

"We all wound up washed back on shore, thankfully, alive." Griffin said with a smile. "Could have been much worse."

"Yeah, I'll say…" Said Hunter, sitting on the other side of Gloria. Rex pounced Gloria from behind, licking her cheek.

"Gloria alive! …And salty!" She chuckled and hugged him.

"So…What do we do now?" She asked, looking up at Griffin.

"I say-" Zealos started.

"Shaddup…" Zell jumped and hit him over the head. Griffon held back a laugh.

"Well…I don't know…I sort of had an idea but…"

"But what?" She asked.

"It might be a bit dangerous if we're not careful…" He rubbed his chin.

"Well, I'm sure we can handle it…" She stood up, smiling confidently, "This is an important Mission, afterall…"

"Right…Here's what we do…"

-------------------

Pain…Head throbbing. Dark…Cold…Hard floor…Stone? Cold stone. Can't feel my arms…Or my legs…Where am I?

"Awake yet?" That voice. The man in black, the man they fought. What happened? Try to talk…All that comes out is senseless mumbles…

"I had to keep you under a little longer…Sorry…The drugs will be wearing off fully soon…" Drugs? Paralyzing drugs…I can move my fingers…Not much, but he's right, it's wearing off fast. Where was Rose?

"…Ro…se…" She strained to get out.

"Oh, she's fine. I have her stored away somewhere safe. Well, safe for me anyway." A chuckle, cold and sinister. It angered her. She tried to move harder. She could wiggle her hands and feet. Something on her wrists, hard and stiff. Cuffs? Something like it…Felt like it was one piece, though. She fluttered her eyes open, the sudden light nearly blinding her.

Celia looked at her surroundings. She was right, a gray cement floor, which matched the walls. However, she was looking at the wall through bars. She felt herself wanting to panic, seeing the metal barricades, her heart pumping faster.

"Oh that's right…You have that thing about being imprisoned…The orphanage right? It was just as much a prison as any jail…Left it's impression on you…" She heard footsteps and saw black shoes come into view, shined with care. She gazed upwards at the man. His pants her long, straight, and pitch black. He had a similar black shirt on, with a thin white trim. There was a line going up in white where she assumed a zipper was, to his collar, which stopped halfway up his neck. Over this he had a thin black overshirt, buttoned only once, at the top, with long sleeves and a similar thin white trim. His eyes were dark, not quite black, but appeared to be a very dark purple color. His hair was like coal, and for the most part sloppily greased back.

The man in black that she had faced after arresting IceDevimon.

"Who are you?" She got out easily enough. She could already feel feeling returning almost entirely, and she sat up, quickly checking herself. Frankly, she was surprised to see she was fully clothed.

The man bowed, "I am Malek Aurelius. Pleased to meet you." He smirked. Celia looked around briefly, again.

"Where's Rose...?" She asked, cracking her stiff back.

"Rose...Your Digimon? She's being kept well under control..." He opened one of the larger drawers in the desk and pulled out a small birdcage. Within was Rose, back to her 8 inch self. Her red hair was flared back, and her tiny clothing was a pale green blouse with an upside down rose as a skirt. Her wings were 6 white feathers, 3 on each side. There were small, metal clips on the bars toward the top, glowing purple. Rose was on the floor of the cage, unconscious and weak looking, however she was clearly still alive, shifting every couple of moments.

"Rose!!" Celia shouted in distress. She now looked up at Malek angrily, snarling.

"Feisty..." He chuckled and placed the cage back in the drawer, kicking it shut. "I'll return later…" He turned around and walked out through a doorway. Seeing herself alone, she scooted away from the bars. She cursed him under her breath, swearing to get him for this.

"This should be easy enough…" She placed her hands, bound together with a strange electronic device, on the wall and activated her Zeo.

Except nothing happened. The cement stayed cement.

"That thing prevents the use of your Zeo…" Said an unfamiliar voice from behind her. She turned around and saw a large man with blonde hair in a crewcut. He had a big army vest on, with a dark green tank top underneath. Black baggy pants held up with a big green belt and ending with large combat boots. He must be her guard.

She said nothing, but leaned against the wall and slowly slid into a sitting position, staring blankly at the bars, unwanted memories flooding her mind once more. Her guard sat in a chair by a table, the only real things in the room.

So she tried to block the images, the memories. She wanted so badly to forget her days in the orphanage, but when she was constrained, it was all too familiar. She heard a scrape of ceramic on stone and saw a plate of food slid in through a small slit in the bottom of the bars. Malek stood back up straight and looked down at her.

"Eat up...You'll need your strength for tomorrow..." He gave a knowing smile and walked back out of the room.

-------------------

"Are we there yet?" Zealos whined. Gloria gritted her teeth, sick of Zealos' constant whining. It was grinding on everyone's nerves, and it didn't help all of them had been stuck underground for the past two days.

The plan had been for Gloria to slowly make a tunnel using her earth control Zeo, and for Griffin to add crystal support beams along the way with HIS Zeo when she couldn't hold it up anymore. While they had all been prepared to handle such a time consuming endeavor, they hadn't counted on Zealos's presence. The fact that they had to deep enough to go UNDER the ocean made the whole thing even more difficult. Luckily, Gloria's Zeo made the work go significantly faster than if they had a team of people digging.

"Well, believe it or not, we're nearly there…" Hunter was tracking Celia's Digivice using his own.

"Good…" Grumbled Zell, about ready to choke Zealos. Unidamon was sleeping on Zealos' head, and Rex was walking last in line. As Griffin erected another set of support beams, Gloria stopped.

"There's no longer water above us…" She said, looking up, her hands on the dirt in front of her.

"So we reached the island?" Griffin sounded relieved.

"The island's not showing up on the Digivice…But who knows what kind of jammers they have…" Hunter said.

"If they have jammers, why would Celia's digivice show up?" Gloria said. Just about everyone, but Zealos, came to the same conclusion only moments after she asked.

"Be on guard…" Griffin said sternly. Zealos ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Who the hell cares, just dig up and get us out of here!" He shouted. Gloria rolled her eyes, and put her hands out, the earth around them all rumbling. The wall of dirt and stone in front of them began to separate, leading upward. Gloria began walking up it, spreading more earth as she went, Griffin applying more support beams.

Soon after, a hole appeared in the middle of a sandy beach. Shouts of protest and the occasional 'ow' were heard as Zealos scrambled up past everyone and burst from the whole.

"The sky! The glorious sky!" He shouted, his arms outspread toward it. Unidamon had fallen off his head and crawled out soon after him. The others filed out after him, Gloria coming last, rubbing her head and glaring at the blue-haired maniac. They all took in their surroundings.

Directly in front of them was what appeared to be a huge jungle, green as far as the eye could see. The beach they were on wasn't much to look at, but to the left they could see a huge cliff face. Behind them was, of course, the sea. However, they could see in the distance the storm that had kept them from crossing 2 days ago.

"Holy crap…Talk about a big storm…We can see the storm clouds from here…!" Griffin squinted with his hand shielding his eyes from bright sunlight.

"Good thing we didn't wait…" Gloria said, putting her hands on her hips. "So I guess we head in there?" She nodded her head toward the jungle. Hunter points forward.

"She's dead ahead." Griffin, Gloria, and Zell nodded. Unidamon has positioned his deformed looking self on Rex's back and fallen asleep again. Zealos smirked, thinking to himself, Hehehe…When they capture her, I'll steal her away and hand her in on my own…Fame! Glory!

"Well, what're you all waiting for, let's go!" Zealos shouted excitedly. Gloria, Griffin, and Hunter looked at each other and sighed.

"You go first then, since you're so excited…" Gloria kicked him lightly in the back, causing Zealos to stumble forward.

"Fine!" He grumbled, "If none of you have enough courage…! The fearless Zealos will lead the way!" He brushed off his suit and walked forward into the jungle, followed by everyone else.

------------------

"Anyone else notice that?" Hunter asked, stopping. They were all surrounded on all sides by greenery. Think, lush leaves and massive trees and various other huge plants. However, as everyone stopped they all noticed what Hunter meant. There were no sounds one would generally associate with a jungle. No bird calls, other animal noises, of even leaf rustling besides themselves.

"…This place suddenly got a whole lot creepier…" Zell grumbled.

"Where the animals?" Rex asked, sniffing around.

"I dunno, but a jungle with no animal life is certainly something I've never heard of…" Gloria replied, looking around herself. She hadn't mentioned it, cause it didn't seem important, but there were a few plants she hadn't ever seen before either. She didn't think it something important, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Who cares about some stupid animals…" Zealos mumbled, cleaning out his ear with his pinky, disgruntled look on his face.

"Oh, hey guys!" Hunter suddenly burst out, "She's straight ahead" Hunter pointed.

"Alright…Lets go get her…Just be careful everyone…" Griffin said and he headed in that direction. He had been using scythes made on his forearms as machetes to clear their path, so he was in the lead.

"Good, I can finally find out what the hell's going on with her…" Gloria said as she followed him and Zell. Rex was right behind her, followed by Hunter, then Zealos and Unidamon.

After a few minutes of walking, Griffin cut away a thick group of large leaves and there was a large clearing. It looked like the trees and plants had been deliberately removed, leaving stumps cut straight down to ground level. In the center stood a woman with her back to them.

She was wearing a skintight black bodysuit that covered everything but her head. It had lines of glowing purple tracing across it in several areas and on the back, between her shoulderblades, was a similarly glowing purple swirling eye design. However, even with her back to them, they all recognized the unique red and white hair of Celia.

"Celia?" Gloria asked, blinking. "What's with that get-up?"

She briefly looked back toward them, then slowly turned around. She was wearing a black headband with the same eye right in the center, and her red glasses were missing. She had a faint smile on her face and raised her hand, snapping her fingers.

A feeling of dread washed over them all suddenly as two black shadows appeared on each side of her. These shadows began to smoke, and two identical figures rose out of them.

Strange creatures they were, they looked like tall, lanky men. In fact, if they weren't hunched over, they could be 9 feet tall. They wore tight black leather covering their whole body, wrapping in belts around their chests, arms, and legs. They had knee-high boots with large buckles going down the center and large metal parts on the front, crafting to look like a grinning mouth of fangs. Their faces were hidden by solid metal masks clearly bolted onto their very flesh, with nothing but a single hole for their left eyes to see out of. They had long, stingy black hair and their arms and hands appeared bound behind their back with belts. They appeared to have bat-like wings as well, tho' they were also folded up and bound tightly with thick leather belts.

"What the hell?" Griffin asked rhetorically, extending the scythes on his forearms defensively. Gloria likewise got ready to use her Zeo.

"What is she, the BDSM Queen from hell now?" Gloria grumbled, as Rex stepped forward in front of her.

"Those guys…Bad…" He growled, glaring.

"Yeah, that's certainly bad…What the hell is this feeling…?" Zell asked annoyed. He winded his right arm, cracked his neck, and took a stance. Hunter put away his Digivice.

"So does this mean she really did defect?" He said, sounding surprised. Zealos, meanwhile, was slowly backing into the jungle again, carrying Unidamon. Celia gave a rather unsettling giggle and pointed forward at the group. The two creatures lept forward immediately, descending on the team.

Gloria immediately threw up her arms and two large pillars of earth burst from the ground, smacking the two in the chest. They fell back and landed on their feet. Immediately Griffin and Gloria attached their Digivices to their Pulse Guns.

"Helix Evolution! Shinka!"

Echidmon digivolve to…Hurricmon!

Rexmon digivolve to…KaiserRexmon!

Zell now stood much taller and looked much different. He still had his 'dreadlocks', but the rest of him was covered in green and gold armor. Her had jet-like wings on his back, and a large blue gem on his forehead.

Rex, on the other hand, was now massive. He now looked far more feral than before, his long sharps fangs bared in his lipless mouth. The slashs of yellow were now bigger and more frequent, and yellow shoulder and knee scale armor appeared. He had an unruly white mane and large horns pointing forward, his yellow gem in the center of his chest.

"You two take care of those guys, the rest of us will try and subdue Celia!" Griffin called, already running toward her. One of the leather-clad men jumped in front of him, tho' immediately after, Zell had delivered a flying kick to him, sending him flying out of the way.

"Got it, boss!" Zell said as a low growl came from the direction of the man and Zell was suddenly blasted back by an invisible force. Griffin knew he could take care of himself, so continued on, Gloria right beside him. Hunter stayed back.

"I'll help Zell and Rex…I get a really bad feeling about these two too…" He planted his feet and dashed at one of the men, tackling him right as he was about to leap up to Rex. Celia simply stood waiting for Griffin and Gloria, small grin ever present. The crystals on Griffin's forearms cracked and reformed as bracers, since he only wanted to subdue her. Gloria's eyes began to glow gold as the earth under Celia started to crack. She seemed to make no notice of it.

"Kaiser Burst!" Rex roared as a golden beam of energy erupted from his mouth and trailed along the ground, sweeping across the two men, who emerged smoking, but relatively seemed unharmed. Hunter threw a punch, hitting one of their faces with a clang and leaving scratchs. He had gone First Advent, and so he had large sharp bone-like growths on some of his joints. Zell was fighting the one who blasted him, the man/creature's eye bleeding. The thing's head jerked back as Zell was hit in the chest by another blast, sending him flying back into a tree. Blood dripped down the front of it's mask as it's eye twitched around rapidly.

"Celia, why are you doing this?" Griffin was trying peacefully first, but Gloria was set to erupt the very earth under Celia if that didn't work out. Celia leaned her head back a bit and closed her eyes. Suddenly Griffin and Gloria were both hit hard in the sides of the head, causing the both of them to fall over. Both caught themselves quickly and scrambled to their feet on each side of Celia.

She was still spinning in the air when they looked, landing lightly on her feet, once more opening her eyes.

"Guess that settles it then…Sorry we have to do this…" Gloria said as her eyes went back to their golden glow. The ground rose up under Celia, sealing around her legs. Griffin, meanwhile, had grabbed her by the wrists and held them tight together behind her, holding them up painfully.

"Come with us quietly Celia, we don't want to hurt you…" He said from behind her. Gloria trapped more of her legs in stone, however stopped as it suddenly cracked. Celia's leg burst free and caught right under Gloria's chin, catching her by surprise and sending her up into the air. Griffin, likewise surprised, had little time to react as she broke her other legs free and flipped backward, planting her feet between his shoulder blades and kicking off hard. He felt her wrists slip from his hand andpain in his back and he a plunged face first into the ground. Celia once more landed almost dantily behind them and gave another of those creepy giggles.

Rex got hit in the side of the head with one of the invisible blasts and nearly fell over. He regained his composure and swiped with his massive claw, tho' the one he aimed for lept swiftly over it and blasted him again. Blood was dripping down the masks of both things as they fire the highly concentrated blasts.

Hunter grabbed one by the throat, looking rather pissed. He roared and fire erupted from his mouth, engulfing the now screeching thing. He dropped the scorched body, but as the smoke cleared, it simply rose again and blasted him in the chest.

"Sonic Gun!!" Hurricmon fired small orbs from his gauntlets, hitting both of the black menaces. They exploded in a burst of tearing winds, lifting both up and cutting them with the powerful wind force.

"Dinothunder!" KaiserRexmon roared and the earth cracked, lightning erupting up from it and into the tornado, electrifying the two. Hunter reared back and took a deep breath, then fired a jet of flame from his mouth once more, the fire spiraling up until it engulfed the screeching, writhing creatures.

Celia was leaping nimbly from place to place, avoiding Griffin and Gloria's assault with apparent ease. She laughed and punched the ground, Girffin having barely moved out of the way. The earth under her fist cracked and separated, the force of the blow ripping apart the ground. Griffin through a punch at her, but she reached up and wrapped her arms and legs around his arm tightly. He tried to bend it, but she was resisting, a smile on her face. She began to bend backward, Griffin knowing what would happen if he didn't get her off.

"Gloria! Help!" He already felt his elbow about to pop as stone erupted from the ground and pried Celia's arms away. Relieved, Griffin slipped his arm out of the grip of her legs and bent his arm the right way a couple times. He was lucky.

Celia stood and did a backflip away from them, landing on her toes with her arms outspread. The glowing purple on her suit was beginning to pulse with bright purple light slowly, then began to speed up. The smile on her face vanished as slowly one of her hands went to her chest and a stream of crimson went from her lips down her chin.

"C-Celia...?!" Gloria yelled, wondering what had happened. To her knowledge, neither of them had even really hit her. Celia dropped to her knees and coughed, blood spouting from her mouth as she did, fingers clutching at her chest before she fell forward into a small puddle of her blood, motionless. The purple light on her suit soon faded completely.

Griffin and Gloria slowly approached as the charred bodies of the two things landed in the center of the group of three that had vanquished them. Rex, his height allowing him to see, looked over at what had made Gloria and Griffin stop.

"What wrong with Celia?" He asked, taking a step closer.

"What do you mean?" Hunter said, reverting back to his normal self. He looked over his shoulder and saw her laying facedown, eyes open but blank. "What the..." He began to walk over too, followed by Zell.

Griffin and Gloria had stopped on either side of Celia, Griffin cautiously leaning down to check her pulse. Even before his fingers touched her neck, he felt an eerie chill and already knew what he would feel. Or rather, what he wouldn't. With a heavy gulp, he looked down.

"She's dead..." He said solemnly. Gloria gasped, and Hunter looked shocked.

"How hard did you two hit her?!" He blurted out. His eyes were wide as he stared at her body.

"We didn't!" Gloria yelled back defensively, "She just...Died!" She looked away and covered her eyes as Rex and Zell de-digivolved. Rex stepped forward and nudged her waist with his snout.

"Leave her be, Rex..." Griffin said, slowly reaching down and unhooking Celia's digivice from her waist. He looked at it and stood back up. Zell stood beside him, crossing his arms in front of him with his head down.

"What now...?" He asked.

"...We gotta report it." Griffin said, almost angrily as he thrust her digivice into his pocket. Gloria suddenly stopped and looked around.

"...Where is Rose?" She stood up, turning back toward the others, "Why wasn't Rose with her?"

"I'm not sure I want to think about what might have happened to Rose..." Griffin replied. Gloria looked about to saw something else when they heard a familiar scream from within the jungle. Hunter gave a quick look around.

"Zealos is gone!" He shouted. They could already hear the scream coming closer.

"Figures he would chicken out..." Zell growled. Just then, Zealos burst from the wood, holding Unidamon with one hand, his hair askew and leaves all over. He tripped on a rock and landed face first into the ground, sliding a bit and coming to a stop in front of the group.

"Zealos, what the hell is the matter with you?!" Gloria yelled, resisting the urge to stomp him.

"Th-The plants..." He wheezed, "Alive..." He coughed as he got to his feet. He had what appeared to be a bruise around his neck, "We were...Walking... hack This vine...Came out of no where... wheeze..."

"The plants are alive?" Hunter asked.

"Ya and they tried to kill me...!" Zealos shouted. Everyone was silent as Zealos caught his breath.

-------------------

"It seems even I cannot solve this problem...I should have known...Oh well, it all serves a purpose." Malek was watching the first on a security camera hidden within the clearing. As Celia died, he rubbed his chin in thought. "It must be...The adrenaline is too much...The heart can't take it...It ruptured...That suit was designed to stabilize it, but it seems it wasn't enough..." He paused the video and walked away. "It seems I really must stick with simply cloning Digimon..."

Celia sat in a brass domed cage in the large control room. Her wrists, of course, still bound by the special cuffs. She grimaced and shuddered as she watched the clone he had made of her drop dead. Seeing yourself die is rather unsettling.

He had awakened her early in the morning and one of his henchmen literally dragged her out of her cell and shoved her into a large machine. She was a bit dazed and bewildered by the suddenness of it all, and soon the tight chamber she was in began filling with a tingling wet goo. A tube and mask for her oxygen descended and she quickly put it on, unsure of what was happening but knowing she didn't want to drown.

When she was fully covered, the tingling turned into electrical shocks that coursed over her body painfully. She panicked and writhed as hard as she could, but there was no room to move. Eventually she felt a sharper pain as some of her blood was taken via a large needle. About an hour later it was finally over, the goo draining and the door opening. Celia fell out of the chamber, unable to move, and was placed in her new cell with several towels for her to dry off.

When she opened her eyes, she saw herself being dressed in the tight suit. Confused and angry that somehow she was in this cage and could clearly see herself laying naked on a table being dressed in a tight leather suit by the man who kept her trapped, she tried to sort her thoughts and figure out what was going on.

Shortly after, he explained she was human test subject number 19 for his cloning machine. He said the human clones almost never survive long, and sometimes their originals don't even make it out alive, but that he was hoping this would be different. He gave the clone Celia her Digivice so they would continue to track it to the 'real' Celia and hopefully leave the island. The clone Celia obeyed his every whim and followed him like a lost puppy until he sent her out to wait for someone. It made her sick.

Only now did she realize the people the clone Celia was waiting for were Griffin, Gloria, and Hunter. She wasn't quite sure how to react, wanting to hope she'd be rescued, but at the same time positive they would accept this clone Celia as her corpse and leave the island.

Malek was pacing, thinking. He turned on the tape again.

"What bothers me is...Who is this man?" He paused on Zealos' entrance. "Buffoon tho' he appears, I did not expect his arrival...Very strange...Very strange indeed..."

Malek turned off the screen, causing Celia to nearly whine as she leaned forward a bit. She wanted hope, she wanted to know if they were staying or going. However, her heart sunk. It was clearly simply a Mission to find a lost Guardian. They found her. Mission complete, they could go home. She tried to hope, but these bars were sucking that away from her rapidly. She simply laid on her side and stared at a blank, gray wall, trying to keep her thoughts at bay.

-------------------

"There..." Gloria said as a small pile of rocks rolled onto the fresh mound. She wiped away a tear and looked at the others. Even Zealos was managing to stay quiet. However, he couldn't sit still and was pacing back and forth away from everyone. He was careful not to go too near the plants, however, after his last encounter. Unidamon was pacing beside him, bored but not expressing it verbally.

"...Well...No more reason to stay here..." Griffin sighed as he stood up. "I suppose we need to go home...File our reports..." Gloria and Hunter nodded solemnly and looked back toward where they came. Zell had been keeping Rex calm while Gloria and Griffin buried Celia. There was a cross made from two long crystal shards at the head of the mound.

Hunter walked over a stump and felt an odd sensation as he sunk down a bit. He looked down to see he had compressed the entire stump under the ground level. Everyone heard a loud mechanical noise, and when they all looked behind, a portion of the clearing about 20 feet in diameter spun around then began to lower. Curiously they walked closer and looked down at it. Suddenly a female voice spoke from below them.

Now ready for transport. Please step onto the platform.

"...Ok...What the hell is this...?" Hunter pointed down at it. Gloria shruged.

"Let's go down and find out...Zealos! Zell, Rex! C'mon!" Griffin waved them all over and stepped onto the platform, which still matched the earth above. Gloria and Hunter dropped down onto it too, soon followed by the rest. Zealos stood at the edge for a bit.

"Must we?" He asked with a nervous chuckle. Hunter grabbed him by the ankle and yanked him in. Zealos yelped, but landed fine on his feet. "R-Right, in to the very end..." He chuckled again.

Thank you.

The platform began to lower itself down a metal tunnel. After about 10 seconds, it stopped. Doors beside them opened up into a huge underground cement tunnel. The walls were about 40 feet apart, the ceiling appeared about 20 feet high. Far in the distance they could make out a large bolted steel door. Carved into the walls going down, every other space between pillars, the swirly eye design they had seen on Celia's suit appeared.

"So um...Onward?" Hunter suggested. The sheer vast emptiness of it all was a bit unsettling.

"There's that symbol again..." Gloria said. Zealos looked back up at the way they came in.

"Um...Guys? That doors closing!" He pointed up as the natural light faded and the symbols on the wall began to glow a faint white light.

"Well...Looks like there's only one way to go now..." Griffin cracked his neck with a frown and stepped off the platform.

"I really don't wanna be here..." Zealos mumbled. Unidamon crawled up onto his back and closed his eyes.

"Why did you drag us into this...?" He mumbled back.

-------------------

"Well, your friends have finally made it down here..." Malek had been sitting at the table, drinking tea and watching Celia. She was back in her original cell, laying on her side. She didn't even look up when he spoke, just stared blankly at the wall.

"I daresay your mental condition is deteriorating at an alarming rate, Celia..." Malek strode over to the bars, looking down at her. "You'll be a drooling loon in no time..." He smiled, "But it'll all be over soon, don't worry...My Zeo has never failed me before...And never WILL fail me..." He turned his back on her and walked out. However, he himself knew this wasn't entirely true. Clearly that man wasn't any kind of threat, however, so why worry? He ushered the bodyguard back into the cell room.

"It's showtime..." He pressed a few buttons on the keypad in front of the large monitor and waited.

-------------------

"How are we gonna open this?" Gloria asked as everyone but Zealos and Unidamon searched from some kind of switch, or knob, or SOMETHING that would open the massive steel door. Just then, they heard the sound of large gears spinning and all of them stopped. The door began to rise.

Standing before it, they all took in parts of the room beyond. The floor went from cement to steel immediately past the door, polished to a mirror sheen. The room itself was even bigger than the entrance hallway. Gloria knew it must be under a hill, because it was definately higher than the ground level. There were metal stairs in the center of the room, leading up to a gridded metal platform. On this platform as a large copper looking machine which had two similarly copper capsules on either side. On the wall behind it was a large monitor surrounded by several smaller monitors. This platform took up about half of the room. There were double doors on the left and right walls, bloted together with chains, and one empty doorway on the left side of the platform. In the four corners of the room were large sparking pillars with wires leading from them into the wall and under the platform, likely up to the monitors.

Standing alone on the platform, at the top of the stairs, was a man wearing all black.

"Welcome!" Malek shouted to the group, raising his arms outspread in welcome, "My home's first visitors...Will you join me? Will you die? The choice shall be yours..." His voice echoed through the empty room.

"Who are you?! What exactly are you even doing here?!" Griffin called back, clenching his fists.

"I am Malek Aurelius. I simply seek world conquest. Is that so much to ask?" He said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, you and a bunch of other psychos...!" Gloria shouted in response.

"Oh, but I am quite sane..." He ran his fingers through his hair, "I am destined to be the new God of this world...Destined to rule over all..."

"Nonsense! No one rules the Great Zealos Spear!!" Zealos shouted without thinking.

"You know nothing..." Malek's smile disappeared, "One who knows nothing, can understand nothing...I mean what I say..." His eyes began to glow purple, "I have the Sight...The future is mine to behold...I have already seen the outcome of today's events..."

"Heh, then just give up and save us the trouble!" Hunter called out. Malek simply laughed.

"In fact, I have planned all this…I timed the kidnapping to coincide with the storm…You dug the passageway I would need to lead my army off of this island…And now I will eliminate you myself…You are all my puppets…" The group looked thoroughly displeased with this.

"Bullshit! You could easily just be playing this all off…!" Griffin yelled.

"And what's to stop me from simply burying this place?!" Gloria yelled as well.

"Simple…I can stop manipulation…That's simply movement. That's part of why Celia was chosen." He smirks, seeing the confused look on Gloria's face. "True, she is weaker than you…But she can do what you cannot…She can create. I cannot stop creation. 90 of my base is made with materials that she can turn to worthless sand." The look of realization spread over Gloria's face.

"Your Digimon faced two strange Digimon, did they not? Don't bother answering...I assure you, the original is much more powerful than those clones...THANATOMON!" Malek raised his arm and a shadow appeared on the ground level in front of the group. From the smoking darkness rose Thanatomon, who looked exactly like the others they had fought before. The only difference was, the feeling of dread and despair they got was much more intense.

"D-Damn...This feeling..." Zell clutched his chest and struggled to fight it, "Digivolve us quick...!"

"I have seen the future!" Malek began to raise off the ground, his coat and hair fluttering a bit, "And you are not in it!!" Griffin, Gloria, and Hunter were suddenly lifted off their feet as the metal door that had been raised now crashs to the ground and they're slammed against it. They fell on top of each other. Zealos, meanwhile, hadn't been targetted and was trying to hug to wall so as not to be seen, slowly trying to get to the only exit he saw: the open doorway on the platform.

"Ah! Shit...!" Griffin was catching his breath, coughing and Gloria was holding the back of her head as the two of them digivolved Zell and Rex.

"Helix Evolution! Shinka!"

Echidmon digivolve to…Heatdramon!

Rexmon digivolve to…KaiserRexmon!

Zell roared in his new form. Gleaming silver and red, the tall, enraged Perfect Digimon stretched his claws. His head was red and silver plated, with no real visible eyes. His long silver neck lead down to his crimson plated chest. His body curved inward as it went down, leaving his waist only about as thick as his head. However, his thick muscular legs broke this pattern, gleaming red armor. This broke into silver at his calves, then back to red for his clawed feet. His arms were long and silver, separated in segments. There were vents going down his arms, legs, and neck. As he stomped his foot and roared again, flame erupted from these vents and two places on his face where his eyes should be.

Rex had gone back to his towering, menacing form. He loomed high over everyone and glared down at the puny (in comparison) Thanatomon…

"Let's end this!" Zell yelled as he charged Thanatomon. Meanwhile, the Tamers were doing their best to fight Malek. It wasn't going so well.

Malek floated down from the platform and flicked his wrist and Gloria, sending her flying back into the wall. Griffin held out his arm and fired two spear-like crystals straight at him. He held up his hand and they stopped in midair, then fired back at Griffin. Hunter had come up behind Malek as Griffin managed to roll out of the way, but found himself paralyzed just as his fist was about to hit.

"Such fools, the whole lot of you…" Hunter was sent flying upward, eventually falling and hitting the ground with a loud thud, cracking the concrete. Gloria had recovered and was throwing chunk after chunk of broken up concrete at Malek with her Zeo, all of which seemed the swerve out of the way just as it was about to hit.

Zell and Rex, meanwhile, were having their own troubles fighting the extremely fast and agile Thanatomon.

"Kaiser Burst!" Rex roared as the golden beam of energy fired from his mouth straight at Thanatomon. Thanatomon simply leapt straight up and his head jerked back once more, droplets of blood flying from his eye, as Rex was knocked back, a small smoking spot on his chest.

"Comet Buster!" Zell's entire body became engulfed in flame and he shot up into the air. In midair, he changed direction suddenly and flew straight for Thanatomon, fists reared back. Thanatiomon raised his legs and kicked down, hard, on the back of Zell's head just as he was about to hit. In a roar of pain and frustration, Zell crashed into the ground by Rex.

Zealos was hiding from the intense battles. With Unidamon on his back, he finally made his move. He ducked out from under the stairs, thankfully now behind Malek, and ran up them. Griffin saw the coward running away and growled, but was more focused on Malek. Crystals began covering his entire body in a form of spikey, crystalline armor.

"Bring it on, you freak!" He clenched his fists and charged. Zealos had managed the reach the door and rushed inside.

"Hey you!" Came the gruff sound of the guard to his right. He was already up and marching toward Zealos, knife in hand.

"AHH! Unidamon!" Zealos grabbed Unidamon and threw him at the man.

"Zealos! AHH Squish!" Unidamon called out his only attack and shut his eyes tight, hoping against hope he would live past this day. SMACK, Unidamon his the guard right in the face. Surprised by the sudden odd attack, he stumbled backward, dropping the knife, and knocked over his glass with his arm. Stepping on the glass, he slipped and fell backward, his head hiding the concrete wall with a nasty THUD. As Unidamon scampered off, Zealos blinked in shock, looking at the big, motionless man in front of him.

"…Did you kill him?" Zealos asked blankly.

"Ahhh! I don't wanna go to Digi-jail!" Unidamon cried. Zealos looked for the exit, but saw only metal bars surrounded a girl laying on her side with her back to him. A girl with hair he recognized…

"Hm…Oh! It's you! Wait, I thought you were dead!" No answer, and she hadn't even shifted. Zealos stood for a minute, then heard a loud crash outside and Hunter's roar of pain.

"This is so bad, why did I come along…"

"For fame, glory, stuff like that…" Unidamon replied. "Get the key and let her out…She's the one you wanted, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Zealos turns around and checks the guard, cautious so as not to wake him up. Pulling out a ring of keys, he begins trying them on the lock. Eventually he's able to slide the door open and he tries to pick her up. She shifts in his hands and opens her eyes, looking up at him, a look of total bewilderment on her face.

"…Zealos…Wha…What're you doing here…?" She mumbled. Zealos lets her go and strikes a pose.

"Being the valiant hero, of course!" He puts his hands on his hips and laughs excitedly.

"Ugh…" She looks around and hears the sound of battle outside. She holds up her wrists to him suddenly. "Unlock these…!" Zealos blinks and nods, going through the keys again. Eventually he finds the right one and Celia rubs her wrists to sooth them.

"We better hurry out of here, I don't know how long the others can hold that psychopath off…" Zealos said in a bit of a panic.

"Rose…" Celia tried to stand, but immediately collapsed. Zealos watched as she began to crawl her way over to the desk.

"Geez…" She pulled the drawer open and he saw the cage with the purple beams inside. Recognizing Rose as well, he swiftly pulled the cage out.

"I'll save her too!!" He grabs the door and tugs, immediately getting a large shock of electricity. "AHHH!!" He winces, but doesn't let go, eventually pulling the whole door off. He dropped the cage and twitched, coughing out black smoke. Celia caught the cage and sat up against the desk, pulling Rose out. Rose lay unconscious in her hand.

"Rose…I'm sorry…" She lifted her up and kissed her gently. Zealos shuffled his feet, getting anxious and wanting to be out of this dangerous place.

"C'mon, we have to get you out…!" Zealos said urgently as Celia slipped Rose into her pocket. She reached up toward him.

"…I can't move my legs…" She practically winced as she said it, hating the feeling of helplessness, especially when she had to rely on someone like Zealos Spear. He just grabbed her arm and helped her up, throwing the arm over his shoulder as support. Celia held onto him, at the same time cringing from being so close, and let him walk her out of the room. She was surprised as she now saw the 'others' Zealos had been talking about. Gloria, Griffin, and Hunter fending off her captor, whilst Zell and Rex fight the monster she had seen walking around now and then.

"Zealos…Let me go…I can fight…" She clenched her fist and flames swirled around it, eyes turning gold. However the flames quickly died out and she grew weary, her body slumping with even more weight.

"Hey, stop that…! You're too weak!" Zealos yelled at her. Griffin, Gloria, and the rest looked up and stopped in their tracks.

"Celia!" Gloria shouted with relief. "She's alive!"

"So she is…!" Griffin smirked. Malek looked briefly at her and Zealos.

"So…You were trouble after all…" He mumbled as Celia was suddenly pulled from him.

"Hey you, let her go!!" He grabbed for her, but was thrust back into the wall with psychic energy. Celia feebly struggled as she was lifted from the platform, and yelped in pain as she was thrown hard into the wall by the entrance, denting the metal wall. She landed with a thud and didn't move.

"Celia!" Hunter shouted in distress. However, slowly her arms began to move, leading to sighs of relief. Meanwhile, Zell and Rex were literally wrestling Thanatomon.

"Don't you fools see? You cannot win!" Malek laughed, "I will own all…All of Cyan, all of Mirai, then all of the world!!" Zealos got to his feet, hearing that. Cyan, Mirai? Why, that meant…

"Nobody takes my mansion!!" Zealos yelled and ran at Malek with what one could only call an idiot's rage. However, it seemed Malek had not foreseen THIS event. Zealos tackled him from behind, gripping at his head and clawing at his face, actually biting his head. Malek tried to pull Zealos hands from his eyes, yelling out in frustration as he spun in the air, trying to throw the fool off.

Purple light shown from between Zealos fingers and he was suddenly thrown off as Malek shown off an aura of purple energy. Zealos yelled and slammed hard into the gigantic monitor behind them. The screen broke and electricity began arcing all over, electrocuting the already fairly blackened Zealos even more. As the man screamed and fell to the platform, Malek turned back to his foes.

Just in time to register the crystallized fist about to connect with his face.

Sharp pain exploded in Malek's head as Griffin hit him with every ounce of strength he had. Malek was sent flying backward, trying to regain his senses, when Hunter lept behind him, going Second Advent. His eyes suddenly began to glow pale blue, nearly his entire body covered in draconic armor. His hair went wild and blue gems appeared in his forearms, massive clawed hands, and chest. He reared back one of his thick, taloned legs and kicked Malek in the lower back with all the force he could muster.

Malek screamed as he was nearly broken in half. Gloria also went Second Advent, small orbs of cement breaking off and orbiting around her as her eyes shown bright gold. The ground shook as a massive concrete fist rose up and slammed Malek into the ground, crumbling on top of him. His screams silenced, the group returned to normal and ran up to Celia.

Rex managed to bite Thanatomon around the waist and Zell was punching him in the face repeatedly. Thantomon struggled, but couldn't get away. Suddenly the mask cracked. Thanatomon's eye widened and he vanished into a shadow, disappearing.

"Where'd the bastard go…?!" Zell yelled, clenching his fists. Zealos limped forward and fell down the metal stairs.

"What a terrible day…" He mumbled, Unidamon sneakily walking out of the prison room, acting like he had been out the whole time.

"She's still alive alright…" Griffin reached down and picked Celia up in his arms. She hung limply from them, barely conscious, her head bleeding. "We'll get her medical attention as soon as we get back…" Everyone nodded.

"C'mon Zealos…We're done here…" Hunter said, looking over to him. Zealos raised his hand.

"Can that cutie carry me…? I'm so injured…" He faked sounding in worse condition than he was. Gloria just glared.

"Not even if you really were that hurt…" She said coldly. Zealos even shivered a little. He jumped to his feet and patted off his suit. He marched over to them.

"Looks like I saved all your lives, hehe…" He said with a cocky smirk.

"Only…Postponed their…Deaths…" A wheezy voice said from behind them. They turned back to the platform. A bloody Malek had crawled out from the rubble and up the stairs. He pressed a few keys on the keyboard and started laughing as the huge door that was the exit began to open.

"Let's see you…Escape…My army…" He laughed, coughing up some blood. Suddenly, the locks on both massive doors on each side of the room burst open. In a flash, four purple energy pillars appeared around the room. Zell and Rex yelled out in pain as they immediately de-digivolved to their Child states.

"Their energy is being drained…!" Gloria threw her arms around the writhing Rex, and Hunter grabbed Zell gently for Griffin.

The doors burst open. Sudden darkness spread across the floor like a wildfire from those two doors.

"…Run…" Griffin said in shock. He didn't need to tell them twice. Just as the first of the Thanatomon burst from the ground, the group was running full speed back toward the elevator. Zealos looked back, Unidamon clinging to the back of his head.

"There's HUNDREDS!!" He yelped in fear as he sped up. Just then, Celia shifted in Griffin's arms.

"Wha…" She mumbled.

"Army of monsters. We're escaping. Saved you." Griffin stated quickly.

"…They actually put up a Mission to rescue me…?" She rubbed her bloody forehead.

"It…Wasn't really a Mission to rescue you…Saving you was our own agenda…" He said, continuing to focus straight ahead. Celia looked at him, bewildered. Not a mission? They risked their lives simply to save her, not for any other kind of reward…?

Memories began to flash through her head. Griffin and her fighting side by side on her first mission. Her talk with Gloria outside Cyan. Hunter greeting her on her first day. The battle in the cave for Gloria and Rex's freedom…

She had been lied to, cheated, and taken advantage of since she was a little girl. She had grown up trusting no one, and even til now had no reason to trust anyone. Yet, these people had risked their lives to save her. It hurt her head to think about it.

It all sort of overwhelmed her, leaving her silent for a few moments until she realized. They had never considered her as anything less than a friend from day one. Yet, she had even gone so far as avoiding them. They actually, truly wanted to help her.

Her eyes flew open. She gripped Griffin's arm, her strength taking him by surprise as he winced and nearly dropped her.

"Put me down…" They could all hear the charge of the Thanatomon behind them, closing in fast.

"WHAT?! No way, you're injured! Weakened!" Griffin yelled back. However, before he could do anything else, Celia had actually vaulted over him using his broad shoulders. She landed well behind everyone, looking straight at the army.

"Celia, are you crazy?!" Gloria shrieked.

"They'll catch up before we reach that elevator…" She knelt down, putting her hands on the cold cement.

"Celia, you're too weak! Don't hurt yourself!" Hunter yelled as they all started running toward her.

"Back off!!" She yelled, the ground suddenly shaking a little. "You saved me…I'll save you…Fair trade, right? Go for the elevator. I'll be there in a second." She looked back and gave everyone a genuine smile. This took them all by quite a bit of surprise.

"Uh…Right…" Gloria said, backing up toward the elevator. "C'mon guys, she can handle this…" I hope… she added in her mind. As they all turned around, they noticed Zealos hadn't stopped. Of course. Griffin hesitated, looking back, but ran after them all.

Celia closed her eyes, concentrating. She heard them again…You're injured! Weakened!…You're too weak!… She knew they were wrong. She was strong. She had always been strong enough for what she needed. She would be now, as well. She would survive.

The cement began turning to sand, however slower than it needed to. C'mon, c'mon! Celia yelled at herself, I am strong! I can do this!

The army was nearing her quickly, already having past the halfway point. She dug her fingers into the sand, gritting her teeth.

"I am strong…" She concentrated harder, the sand starting to swirl.

"I AM strong…I CAN do this…" Sweat began to form on her brow as she clenched her eyes shut. She had buried her fists into the small bit of sand. She suddenly began to feel power bubbling up from within. She became scared, it threatened to overtake her. At the same time…She welcomed it. She was on her last bit of energy, and this was her last chance…

She accepted it.

Immediately a shockwave exploded from her, pushing the army back a little. Her eyes flew open, iris's glowing pure gold. The ground shook and the cement began rapidly turning to loose sand, dissolving up the walls and onto the ceiling. Sand was falling from above and all the Thanatomon stopped and watched as it continued to spread toward them.

Celia slowly stood, her hair and cloths swaying a bit. The cement under her feet began to crack as the ceiling, walls, and floor in front of her continued to form into sand.

"I AM strong…I WILL do this…I WILL PROTECT THEM!!" She cried out, the sand suddenly forming sharp, jagged tendrils and whipping through the ranks, rapidly impaling the Thanatomon she could reach. They began to roar and cry in pain and fear, retreating. The entire place began to shake violently as it's foundation dissolved into loose sand.

Gloria turned back to see what was happening. Her eyes widened as the storm of sand swirled and thrived in front of Celia, decimating the ranks.

"Oh my God…Is that…Her Second Advent…?" Gloria put her hand to her mouth as one of the Thanatomon was ripped in half, bursting into data which quickly dissolved. Celia was filled with blind rage, her emotions overpowering her better judgement. Suddenly, however, as the walls began to crash down and bury the army, it all snapped off at once. She heard Gloria yell something, then everything faded to black…

-------------------

It's quiet now.

Somehow, I survived.

I heard the rumbling, saw the death of my army…Watched as all my years of devotion to a future I was guaranteed…Why…What went wrong…?

That man…That blue-haired FREAK…

Why couldn't I see him? Why had he never appeared?! How could I be beaten by such a BUFFOON?!

I see fate…I know the path of fate…Seen it's twists and turns…Yet still, I was taken by surprise…

…

…Perhaps…

…

…Perhaps this man, this…Zealos Spear…Is beyond fate's grasp…

I hit him hard enough to kill any normal man…Yet he lived…Twice…

It's…It was a fluke…It must be…

My Sight has never failed me before…It simply…Overlooked something…

…I will remember you all…

However, I fear I will die here…

I lost my eyes…And gone with them, is my Sight along with my vision…

…Is this really the end…?

…Goodbye.

-------------------

"-said maybe 3 more days…Most of the damage was simply fatigue. The crack to her head was more serious than it seemed, tho'. In fact, according to the Doc, it caused some imbalance…I didn't understand it, but he basically said it's why she went berserk when she went Second Advent. All that power…She just couldn't control it in that state."

She was alive…That was a relief. Her head ached like hell, but she was alive.

"She won't suffer any brain damage or anything, right?"

"Nah, the Doc said she'll be fine…"

Gloria and Griffin. She wanted to see them…She tried and slowly fluttered her eyes open. She was in a hospital bed. On her left was Gloria, on her right was Griffin. Hunter was sitting at the foot of the bed. All three had a few bandages here and there, but apparently were fine enough to stand around.

"Hey, she's awake…" Hunter said with a smile, straightening up.

"Yeah, she's awake…" Celia rubbed her forehead, then winced at the sudden pain. Her head was wrapped completely in bandages from her brow up.

"Careful, you hit your head pretty damn hard…" Gloria smiled, "But you're gonna be ok. Should be able to hop right back into your next mission in 3 days time…"

"Oh, cause I'm so excited to get back out there…" They chuckled.

"By the way, Zealos 'the Great' left this for you." Gloria smirked and handed her a card. On it was a picture of Zealos spread out in a white suit on a bear rug in front of a fireplace. There was a bucket of ice with a champaigne bottle in it and 2 glasses. On the back, was written in black marker:

'Feel free to thank me with a Date!'

The writing was surrounded with little heart doodles, and below it was a phone number. Celia ignored the shivers down her spine and simply caused the card to burst into flame.

"That was a damn fine display of power back there, Celia…You took out that whole place…" Griffin said, "I also got you off the hook…Showed everyone who doubted the video of our fight with Malek…Everyone had thought you'd turned bad on us…"

"Yeah, well don't put it past me yet…I am a criminal, after all…" Celia said sarcastically. Hunter just smiled.

"Maybe next time, you won't go on a Mission by yourself when you've been assigned a partner…" He said.

"Ya, a part-Wait, where's Rose?! Is she ok, what happened?!" Celia frantically began trying to get out of bed. Griffin pushed the girl back into bed gently.

"She's fine. Those beams drained her pretty bad and left her weak, but after some candy she was good as new. She's at the vending machine as we speak, in fact." Celia breathed a sigh of relief. Speak of the devil, a small voice could be heard outside the door.

"Watch out, h-heavy!!" Rose bobbed up and down through the doorway, carrying a large basket of sweets, just barely. She stopped when she saw Celia.

"Celia! You're awake!!" She shrieked happily and dropped the basket, candy and chocolate bars scattering everywhere as she dashed forward and hugged Celia's cheek.

"Oh, Rose, it's so good to see you again…" Celia smiled wide and gently rubbed Rose's back. "In fact…It's good to see all of you again…" Her friends all smiled, "I don't know how to thank you…"

"Hey, like you said…We saved your life, you saved ours…Fair trade…" Gloria responded. Celia just smiled again, rubbing at her eyes to hide the tears she felt coming.

"It's great to be home, that's for sure…"

FIN


End file.
